Mellow Mushroom

In Short
With satellite locations in big-time university towns like Chapel Hill and Athens, this popular Atlanta chain knows what makes a college pizzeria. Strip mall and college locations aside, the downtown flagship store is a two-story modern monstrosity, with giant mushrooms hanging from the ceiling, full size Mellow characters and plenty of psychedelic bright-colors. A product of the '70s, this reliable pizzeria projects an unflappable Deadhead psychedelics-n'-health-food ethos. This amounts to lots of ''shroom'' eferences, ''spring water dough'' (enriched with vitamin E), plus tofu as a pizza topping and sprouts on all the hoagies. Pies are high quality and the crust--dense but crisp--is distinctive. Specialties, including the Gourmet White pie (sun-dried tomatoes, onions, feta and provolone cheeses) and the Mighty Meaty (hamburger, bacon, pepperoni, ham and sausage) are top-notch. Salads and sandwiches are college-food good, making a nice variation if you dine here often.